Coin controlled apparatus



June 28, 1938. .w. A. BOCKISCH COIN CONTROLLED APPARATUS Filed July 11,1956 lNVf/VTOR WA. Bock/5c B) ){Q with v ATTORA/[X Patented June 28,1938 ool N CONTROLLED: APPARATUS Walter A. Bo ckisch, Chicago, Ill.,assignor to Western Electric Company, Incorporated, New York, N. Y., acorporation of'New york Application July 11, 1936, Serial No, 90,087

. 4 I Glaims.

This invention relates to coincontrolled .apparatus, and moreparticularly to telephone "coin collectors for use at public paystations. I

In certain types of telephone coin collectors the usertentativelydeposits a coin which is sube sequently collected or refunded by thecentral officeoperator, depending upon whether or not the desiredtelephone connection is-obtained. Thus, in the apparatus disclosed in O.F. Fors- 1o berg U. s. Patent 1,043,219, issued November 5,

1912, the depositedcoin is temporarily held upon acoin trap which issupported by a pivoted vane under the control of an electromagnet. Ifthe pivoted vane is moved by theelectromagnet in one direction thedeposited coin is collected, while if'it is moved in the oppositedirection the coin isrefunded .and'the direction this vane is moveddepends upon which direction the currentis made to flowthrough theelectromagnet. In apa paratusof this type, deposit-of a coin ortoken isnecessary'before the substation cansignalthe central ofiice operator.Usually the connection is made by means of a;trigger mounted in the pathof the deposited coin and caused to operate-za line circuit switch whenactuated by the passing coin.

An objectgof this invention is to provide improved and simplifiedapparatus for indicating the deposit of a coin in a coin controlledapparatus. I v

In accordance with: one embodiment of this invention the. coinchute of atelephone coin col- 7 '45 Other objects andadvantages of this invention.willbe apparent from the following detailed description takeninconjunction with the appended drawing, in which- Fig, 1 is a perspective view of .a portion of a 50 telephone coin collectorshowing amechanism for controlling a line circuit responsive to the position of acoin arresting trap in the apparatus, embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 shows a coin trap, coin directing vane 55 and contact springs intheir normal positions;

Fig. 3 shows the relative positions of the coin trap, vane, and contactsprings after a; coin has been deposited and before it has been releasedby the electromagnet; j

Fig. 4 shows the position of the apparatusof Fig. 3 after theelectromagnet has been operated: to release the deposited coins; l f

, Fig. 5 shows the relative positions of theapparatus during the returnstroke of the coin directing vane after the electromagnethas beendeenergized to restore the mechanism to normal,

and V Fig. 6 is-a sectional view of the apparatus in Fig. 5 taken alongthe line 66. f p v In the operation of the telephone coin col- 15 lectordescribed herein a coin deposited by any person wishing to use theequipment traverses a coin chute anddrops into a coin hopper I5, comingto rest ona coin trap lfi extending across the coin passageway. The cointrap, which is 20 provided with a counterweight i1, is pivotally.mounted and while supporting a coin rests against a -roller 18 on avertical vane mounted on pivots 20' at its lower end.

A coin passage below the trap is divided into 25 two channels; a refundchute leading to an, open- I ing where'coins are accessible from outsidethe collector housing and a collect chute leading to a cash'compartmentwithin the housing. As explained ,in the 'Forsberg patent, if thevertical 30 vane is moved to close the collect passageway, dropping ofthe trap will allow the deposited coin to fall inthe refund chute, whileif the vane ismoved to close the refund chute dropping of the trap willallow the deposited coin to be 3.5 diverted into the chute leading tothe cash compartment. The apparatus so far described is similar to thatdisclosed in the Forsberg patent; I

. In accordancewith .a feature of this invention a pair of tensionedelongated contact springs 40 2| and 22 are mounted vertically on therear outside wall of the coin hopper IS. The springs are secured to abracket arm 23 extending from the hopper housing by means of screws 24threaded into the bracket arm. The springs are insulated from oneanother and from the mounting bracket withv suitable insulating material25., Each spring" member is provided with a terminal 26 and 21 at themounting endwhich isconnectedtolead wires (not shown) running ,50 to'the central oflice as described in the For'sberg patent. v i

The contact springs extend verticallyv downward and parallel to thehopper wall with their unsupported ends approximately opposite thehorizontal position of the coin trap. A cam or lug 28 made of insulatingmaterial and having an oval cross-section projects from the edge of thetrap opposite the counterweight. A suitable opening is provided in thehopper housing to permit the projecting lug to engage the free ends ofthe contact springs which are formed to receive the lug between them andhold it frictionally.

The free end portions of the two contact springs are tapered withreference to one another so that the entering lug will spread thesprings apart. Immediately above the tapered end portions the springsare shaped to form a pair of parallel adjacent faces 29 and 30. On theinside of each of these faces is a coating or disk 31 of gold, silver,or other metal suitable for electrical contacts, welded or otherwisesecured thereto. These contact disks are joined and separated inaccordance with the position of the insulated lug projecting from thetrap to complete and interrupt the electrical circuit through thecontact springs.

In a complete cycle of operation the coin trap assumes four significantpositions as shown in Figs. 2, 3, 4, and 5. Normally, it is elevated toits highest position, shown in Fig. 2, and retained there by frictioncontact between the projecting lug and the line switch contact springs.In this position the lug holds the contact disks apart and the linecircuit is consequently open. When a coin 32 is deposited in theinstrument the weight of the coin on the trap overcomes this frictional,resistance and deflects the trap to its second position against theroller on the coin directing vane as shown in Fig. 3. This movementshifts the lug downward suificiently in the tapered spring arms topermit the springs to converge under their contained tension and jointhe contact disks, thus completing the circuit through the springs andthe line running to the central oifice to signal the coin deposit.

t an appropriate time the coin collecting or refunding mechanism isactuated by the central ofiice operator. This is done by rotating thevane on its pivots, as previously described, which causes the trap todrop under the weight of the coin into its third position, shown in Fig.l. A suitable mechanism for actuating the coin directing vane isdisclosed in the Forsberg patent and can be connected to the vane by asuitable link 33.

After the coin is released from the trap the vane is returned to avertical position by the actuating mechanism. During this motion theroller on the Vane and the counterweight on the trap cooperate to raisethe trap to a horizontal position. In order to break the signallingcircuit through the contact springs it is necessary to elevate the trapto its normal position above the roller. This is accomplished by meansof cams 34 hinged to the bottom of the trap and constructed to engagethe vane on its return stroke. A detailed description of these cams andtheir operation is shown in the copending application of L. Landreth,Serial No. 90,085, filed July 11, 19

As shown in Fig. 6 the cam has .a short arm 35 and a relatively long arm36 joined at approximately When the coin directing vane is retated torelease the trap, it engages the long cam arm which is free to swing onits pivot to avoid interference with the vane movement. On the" returnstroke of the vane, the long arm is held in its path by the short camarm which engages the bottom of the trap. This causes the vane to liftthe trap to its normal or elevated position and forces the insulated lugbetween the tapered ends of the contact springs which separates thecontact disks on the springs and opens the coin signalling circuit.

The construction described herein provides a simple and effectivemechanism for signalling the deposit of a coin and conditioning theapparatus crcuits when a coin is deposited. Operation of the linecircuit is directly responsive to the deposit of a coin in theapparatus, thus insuring positive and consistent performance, and thecomponent apparatus required to control the circuit is reduced to aminimum.

Other adaptations of this construction will be apparent and it is to beunderstood that the invention is limited only by the scope of theappended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. In a coin controlled apparatus, a coin chute, a trap therein adaptedto be deflected from its normal position by the weight of a coindeposited thereon, and a common means for holding the trap in its normalposition and initiating a signal when a coin is deposited, comprising apair of tensioned contact springs, and a lug of insulating materialprojecting from the trap for normally separating the tensioned springsand permitting the springs to engage when the trap is deflected bydeposit of the coin,

2. In a coin controlled apparatus, a coin chute, a trap therein adaptedto be deflected from its normal position by the weight of a coindeposited thereon, means for holding the trap in its normal positioncomprising a pair of tensioned springs, and a lug on the trap forprojecting between the tensioned springs and seeming the trap in itsnormal position.

3. In a coin controlled apparatus, a coin chute, a trap in the chuteadapted to be deflected by the deposit of a coin thereon, a pivoted vanefor normally arresting the deflection of said trap, a coin depositsignal switch having a pair of cooperating contact springs, a projectinglug of insulating material on the trap to normally separate the springsand release the springs when the trap is deflected by deposit of a coin,means for pivoting the vane todrop the trap and collect the depositedcoin, and means secured to the trap for engagement with the vane forrestoring the trap to its normal position. i

4. In a coin controlled apparatus, a coin chute, a trap in the chuteadapted to be deflected a predetermined distance from its normalposition by the deposit of a coin thereon, a pivoted vane for normallyarresting the deflection of the trap caused by the deposited coin, acoin deposit signal switch, a lug of insulating material projecting fromthe trap for contacting the switch, means for pivoting the vane to dropthe trap and collect the deposited coin, and a hinged cam on the bottomof the trap to engage the vane on its return stroke after the coin iscollected for returning the trap to its normal position.

WALTER A. BOCKISCI-I.

